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thepetitepunk's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
WOW. This needs to be turned into a movie immediately!
Ten years ago, Dee Skinner witnessed the kidnapping of her childhood friend, Sibby Carmichael. Throughout the years, there has been no signs of Sibby, and all Dee has been left with are the haunting memories of being in the forest when her friend was taken. Now, in order to deal with pain, Dee runs an anonymous podcast called Radio Silent, where she discusses missing person cases and encourages her listeners to help her solve these cases. Shockingly, another girl goes missing--from the family who moved into Dee's childhood house. With potential links to Sibby's case, Dee gets a chance to finally find some answers after all these years.
I Hope You're Listening was fantastic. It's a mystery/thriller that will keep you on your toes, especially as the book advances. Dee's pain and trauma are written respectfully and while this isn't the first book I've read about a secret podcast, it was still entertaining. I also appreciated the lovely queer representation. There were no conversations about gay suffering and woes about coming out--it was just two girls who liked each other and decided to be girlfriends. I thought this was quite refreshing and the subtleness worked well with the story since the main focus was on Dee finding out more about Sibby. The ending was far from disappointing; I was pleasantly surprised with how nicely things wrapped up.
I did think that the beginning was a bit slow (it definitely took me a few tries to get into this book) and there were some elements of the plot that were jumped into too quickly, but overall, I thought Tom Ryan's approach to a thriller was excellent. Again, the beginning took some time to get into, but after pushing passed that, I read the last 60% of the book in one sitting. Would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in YA thriller/mystery, especially one with LGBTQ representation!
4.5 stars
WOW. This needs to be turned into a movie immediately!
Ten years ago, Dee Skinner witnessed the kidnapping of her childhood friend, Sibby Carmichael. Throughout the years, there has been no signs of Sibby, and all Dee has been left with are the haunting memories of being in the forest when her friend was taken. Now, in order to deal with pain, Dee runs an anonymous podcast called Radio Silent, where she discusses missing person cases and encourages her listeners to help her solve these cases. Shockingly, another girl goes missing--from the family who moved into Dee's childhood house. With potential links to Sibby's case, Dee gets a chance to finally find some answers after all these years.
I Hope You're Listening was fantastic. It's a mystery/thriller that will keep you on your toes, especially as the book advances. Dee's pain and trauma are written respectfully and while this isn't the first book I've read about a secret podcast, it was still entertaining. I also appreciated the lovely queer representation. There were no conversations about gay suffering and woes about coming out--it was just two girls who liked each other and decided to be girlfriends. I thought this was quite refreshing and the subtleness worked well with the story since the main focus was on Dee finding out more about Sibby. The ending was far from disappointing; I was pleasantly surprised with how nicely things wrapped up.
I did think that the beginning was a bit slow (it definitely took me a few tries to get into this book) and there were some elements of the plot that were jumped into too quickly, but overall, I thought Tom Ryan's approach to a thriller was excellent. Again, the beginning took some time to get into, but after pushing passed that, I read the last 60% of the book in one sitting. Would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in YA thriller/mystery, especially one with LGBTQ representation!
readwithkiekie's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up 'I Hope You're Listening' because Karen. M McManus recommended it and said it was one of her favorite books of the year. I'm a Karen fan, so anything she recommends I'm going to read and I honestly wasn't disappointed.
schmetterly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
I don’t read a lot of mystery books. But when do I intend on having a fun time reading it. I loved the mystery behind it and the podcast. I just didn’t like the characters as much as I thought I would. The ending was so satisfying as they should be. I loved how they explained how it happened.
I don’t read a lot of mystery books. But when do I intend on having a fun time reading it. I loved the mystery behind it and the podcast. I just didn’t like the characters as much as I thought I would. The ending was so satisfying as they should be. I loved how they explained how it happened.
mukoya's review against another edition
5.0
Found it a bit slow at the beginning but once it caught up it was a definite page turner.
tnh1313's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book from the Tour Host in exchange of an honest review.
I was already looking forward to this book and so I was excited that I had the chance to read it early. In the end I managed to wait at least until October 1st as I wanted this one for Hallowtober. But boy this was a ride, I just couldn’t stop reading. Thankfully, between all the exciting parts there were also some moments to breathe.
Meet Dee, or Delia. A girl who had a very traumatic experience. When she was a kid her best friend got kidnapped while she was there. We see how that still affects her to the day and also that this is why she started the podcast. To at least help out others because she couldn’t help Sibby. She is a strong character, or at least tries to be. I loved her from the first page and she only got better with each new piece of information we get about her.
At times we go back in time, 10 years, to the moment when the kidnapping happened. My heart broke when we got the last piece of the puzzle. Poor Dee.
I was already looking forward to this book and so I was excited that I had the chance to read it early. In the end I managed to wait at least until October 1st as I wanted this one for Hallowtober. But boy this was a ride, I just couldn’t stop reading. Thankfully, between all the exciting parts there were also some moments to breathe.
Meet Dee, or Delia. A girl who had a very traumatic experience. When she was a kid her best friend got kidnapped while she was there. We see how that still affects her to the day and also that this is why she started the podcast. To at least help out others because she couldn’t help Sibby. She is a strong character, or at least tries to be. I loved her from the first page and she only got better with each new piece of information we get about her.
At times we go back in time, 10 years, to the moment when the kidnapping happened. My heart broke when we got the last piece of the puzzle. Poor Dee.
reiding's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
ladytiara's review against another edition
4.0
I Hope You're Listening is a compelling mystery, and a quick and entertaining read.
When Dee was 7, her best friend Sibby was taken, grabbed by two masked men in the woods where she and Dee were playing. Dee was left behind, and Sibby was never found. Dee is now 17 and she's lived with the guilt of being left behind for 10 years. She presents a tough exterior to the world, and she's something of a loner, with just one close friend. But Dee has a big secret: she's the anonymous host of the popular true crime podcast Radio Silent. Known as the Seeker, Dee uses her podcast to investigate missing people. Solving other people's disappearances brings her some peace, but when a little girl who lives in Dee's old house goes missing, it seems like the past is repeating itself.
I really liked this book. It has two interesting mysteries: what happened to Sibby all those years ago and the new disappearance of the little girl. The two cases appear to have similarities, and it forces Dee to revisit Sibby's disappearance. Dee is a great character. She's closed herself off from the world, and her podcast has become something of an obsession. Her listeners are referred to as the Laptop Detective Association, and the podcast has led to a number of solved cases. The concept of the podcast and the work that Dee is doing is very cool, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the book.
Dee has a lot of character growth. She has to face what happened in the past and find a way to move forward. She finds herself on the outs with her only friend because of her reluctance to use the podcast to investigate Sibby's disappearance or the new mystery, while she opens herself up to a possible romance with a new girl who moves in across the street (both girls are unapologetically queer, and it's refreshing that it's not an issue at all in the story). Her journey in figuring out how to deal with trauma and move on is really well done.
I received a digital ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.
When Dee was 7, her best friend Sibby was taken, grabbed by two masked men in the woods where she and Dee were playing. Dee was left behind, and Sibby was never found. Dee is now 17 and she's lived with the guilt of being left behind for 10 years. She presents a tough exterior to the world, and she's something of a loner, with just one close friend. But Dee has a big secret: she's the anonymous host of the popular true crime podcast Radio Silent. Known as the Seeker, Dee uses her podcast to investigate missing people. Solving other people's disappearances brings her some peace, but when a little girl who lives in Dee's old house goes missing, it seems like the past is repeating itself.
I really liked this book. It has two interesting mysteries: what happened to Sibby all those years ago and the new disappearance of the little girl. The two cases appear to have similarities, and it forces Dee to revisit Sibby's disappearance. Dee is a great character. She's closed herself off from the world, and her podcast has become something of an obsession. Her listeners are referred to as the Laptop Detective Association, and the podcast has led to a number of solved cases. The concept of the podcast and the work that Dee is doing is very cool, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the book.
Dee has a lot of character growth. She has to face what happened in the past and find a way to move forward. She finds herself on the outs with her only friend because of her reluctance to use the podcast to investigate Sibby's disappearance or the new mystery, while she opens herself up to a possible romance with a new girl who moves in across the street (both girls are unapologetically queer, and it's refreshing that it's not an issue at all in the story). Her journey in figuring out how to deal with trauma and move on is really well done.
I received a digital ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.